It’s the middle of the night by the time I land in Chicago, and the hired driver takes me to West Englewood. The streets are badly lit, but that doesn’t conceal the grubbiness or dereliction of the area from view. Although the streets are busy with traffic, the neighborhood seems almost deserted. The aura of poverty and hardship are reflected in the brown buildings and scruffy stores, and I get that old ripple of trepidation and uneasiness moving through me. That weight of emptiness I used to feel at being here returns with a vengeance.

I’m to meet Sophie at my old home, the apartment that my mother has lived...